Результаты конференции 19-sentabr | Page 20

Ladies and gentlemen, Germany has felt a strong sense of connection with Central Asia for many years and is working hard to develop its relations with the region. We were one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Uzbekistan and the four other Central Asian countries. In the Central Asia Strategy that was adopted under Germany’s Presidency of the EU in 2007, we and our partner countries drew up the first policy guidelines for our engagement in the region over ten years ago. In a short time, Uzbekistan has become the driving force behind greatly intensified regional cooperation. German and European foreign policymakers are proud to be able to support this process within the framework of the Central Asia Strategy. The new EU-Central Asia Strategy, which will be adopted in the first half of 2019, will be a milestone in our relations. Building on the valuable experiences of the current strategy and bearing in mind the changed circumstances in the region, we want to work with our Central Asian partners on an approach that takes the new needs and situation in the region into account. I am certain that our cooperation will lead to tangible results for the people of Central Asia. Although the new Central Asia Strategy has not yet been finalised, I would still like to mention a few points that are important to me personally and should form a major part of the EU’s new strategy. The EU wants to define priorities and to focus its efforts on achieving sustainable development and fostering security and stability. We would also like to do more to support young people, for example, to create employment and education opportunities, thus generating long-term career prospects. We also want to promote regional cooperation and thus play a part in reaching a joint and fair solution to wide-ranging issues in the fields of resource management and connectivity. Ladies and gentlemen, you will have noted that nowadays, connectivity is top of the agenda. We see that China is creating opportunities and building infrastructure with its Belt and Road Initiative. Working side by side with our partners, we want to ensure that the connections between Europe and Central Asia are developed in a way that leads to greater transparency and fairness. In launching a European connectivity strategy, whose first elements will be published in Brussels today, as I mentioned earlier, the EU wants to offer its Eurasian partners the chance to forge greater economic, technological and infrastructure links in order to ensure that everyone benefits. Working with you, ladies and gentlemen, we want to make sure that the expansion of the Eurasian transport corridors will be of lasting benefit to Central Asia. By developing economic corridors, we want to help increase local value-added, facilitate sustainable development and enable everyone to share in an economic upturn. Germany and the EU have a significant foreign-policy interest in lasting comprehensive economic and political stabilisation in the region. However, the partnership between the EU and Central Asia must be a partnership between equals. We cannot allow it to lead to excessive debt or unilateral dependencies. Our 20